IZETBEGOVIC WRITES TO FEDERATION'S INTERIOR MINISTER HEBIB

SARAJEVO, March 17 (Hina) - Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic today sent an open letter to the Interior Minister of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Avdo Hebib, asking him to take all necessary measures to prevent the lawlessness in Sarajevo suburbs. 'Do not let a group of thieves blemish the reputation this country built and preserved so hard during the war', Izetbegovic said in his message to Hebib, which was carried by the state press agency BH PRESS. The letter was sent after international representatives reported of numerous cases of robbery and intimidation of local Serbs after the Bosnian police entered the Sarajevo suburb of Ilidza. 'Remarks by some of our people that these are slight offenses compared to what the Pale Serbs had been doing are correct, but they are not politically appropriate. We want an integral and democratic Bosnia and they want a divided and ethnically cleansed state. Our aims are therefore completely different and such are our methods. There can be no integral and democratic Bosnia without respect for law and human rights. The Serbs, who after wild propaganda and threats from Pale decided to stay in Sarajevo deserve our full protection and must get it', Izetbegovic said in his letter. (hina) rm 172128 MET mar 96